The damned thing
by xinping
Summary: Kurosaki Ichigo sets off with an unlikely comrade Edward Elric to get back the sacred Jade of Souls...or was it Philosopher's Stone...? [FMA & Bleach crossover] Warning: Rating might go up.
1. Alchemy and Moon Cutter

**DISCLAIMER:** I would really love to own Fullmetal Alchemist and Bleach, but Hiromu Arakawa and Kubo Tite watched them over so tightly. Oh well, I am not as brave as Koinu-chan, so what to do. Besides, if I really consider kidnapping them I have to think of a way to quieten Edward and Ichigo down. Haha…

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**THE DAMNED THING  
by xinping**

One is a shinigami who have no control over his soul strength.  
One is a prodigy state alchemist with a steel arm and leg.  
When the two meets, that's when all hell breaks loose.

**CHAPTER ONE: ALCHEMY AND MOON CUTTER**

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Edward Elric sighed for the umpteenth time. He was on a flight from Amestris to a country called Japan, one he had never heard of before. Perhaps, he would never have known such a country exist if Roy Mustang hadn't told him. 

Roy Mustang. The Flame Alchemist had sent Major Armstrong after Edward when he was taking a well-deserved break at Risembool. Major Armstrong had hugged Edward with his super strength, and caused Edward's bones to literally snapped, crackled and popped, after which Edward had difficulty standing.

Anyway, the Major dragged Edward back to Central and the Fullmetal Alchemist was dismayed when his superior slapped a mission on him.

"You are to go to Japan immediately and meet up with a shinigami called Kurosaki Ichigo. Here," Roy slapped a thick pile of papers in front of Edward, "Is all the relevant information. Go through it yourself; I am lazy to read to you."

Edward stared at the papers and groaned. "I thought I made it clear I will do something for you only if it's related to the Philo-"

"This is precisely what I am doing." Roy cut him off. Edward glared at him. Roy continued, "From what information I had obtained, it appears there is a magical stone stolen by a man called Aizen Sosuke from a place called Soul Society."

"Soul Society?" said Edward incredulously. He half-expected the Flame Alchemist to burst out laughing and tell him it was all a joke. But Roy Mustang's expression remained solemn and Edward realised he was serious.

Edward went over what Roy had told him earlier and said slowly, "So you think this magical stone could be a Philosopher's Stone?" He looked at his superior.

He didn't need any answers. The answer was clear as it could be – the Philosopher's Stone was in Japan, stolen by a pervert called Aizen and all there was left to do was to go there and grab it.

Easier said than done.

Edward sighed again and glared at the thick pile of papers on his lap, the information Roy Mustang had given to him. The flight would last ten hours and there was no point wasting all those time just sighing and watching the clouds.

He pulled the papers towards him and began reading.

- x - x - x - x -

"Why me?"

Kuchiki Rukia glared at the carrot-top guy in front of her. "Why you?" She echoed coolly, "Why you? Because you're the strongest among us all, that's why!"

"But," Kurosaki Ichigo protested, trying to change Rukia's mind. "What about you guys? You can come with me!"

"No way," said a shadow in the corner of the dimly-lit room. Abarai Renji stepped into the light, his red hair tied up in a ponytail as usual. He eyed Ichigo darkly. "You're the one chosen to go, so you have to go. As for us, we are staying here until you come back. And no buts," he added quickly, seeing the expression on Ichigo's face.

Ichigo frowned and folded his arms in front of his chest, glaring at both of them. Both of them glared back with the same intensity. They blinked when the door opened and sunlight flooded the room. Inoue Orihime looked at them innocently, not knowing there had been a battle inside the room.

"What are you guys up to?" She asked, closing the door while balancing a basket of fruits.

Ichigo glared one last time at Rukia and Renji. Muttering "nothing", he opened the door and walked out of the room. He stuffed his hands in the pockets and began the long walk to the airport.

- x - x - x - x -

Edward Elric felt lost. It was especially in this kind of situation he wished he was taller and had a heavier built, not a shorty **PLUS** a small fry. He grinded his teeth and cursed all the people passing him under his breath.

Earlier just now, when he had arrived at Tokyo International Airport, he had gone to the Information booth to ask for a map. Unfortunately, the man there had mistaken him for a lost kid. "I'm not a kid, dammit!" Edward had screamed. The man looked taken aback. Edward read the man's name tag – Night Tenjo. He twisted his face into an ugly grin.

"Mr Night Tenjo," Edward edged closer to the man, making his voice sounded as menacing as possible, "You'd better give me the map now or," he pulled his right glove off slightly, exposing the metal limb underneath, "I'll deform your pretty face." He gave the man a false smile.

Night Tenjo fainted on the spot. Obviously, he had a weak heart. Edward grabbed a map off the booth, smirking to himself, only to be overcome by a new problem – he couldn't read Japanese.

So now the prodigy state alchemist was sitting in one of the airport's plastic chairs, uncomfortable and definitely **NOT** happy with his current situation, which was holding a map full of Japanese words and hoping he would find a way somehow to make sense of the words. No such luck yet.

Edward heard the announcement jingle. It was for the twentieth time, if he had not lost count. However, instead of the usual flight announcement, his name was being broadcasted and hontoo ni, it was not a dream.

"Would Mr Edward Elric please move to the East Wing entrance. Thank You." The female voice said coolly.

As Edward unstuck himself from the plastic airport chair and picked up his luggage, he thought, "Here comes Edward Elric!" This cheered him up a little and he skipped his way to the East Wing entrance, wherever it is.

- x - x - x - x -

Kurosaki Ichigo searched the crowd with his seemingly-lifeless slit glare for a 'blond kid with show-off antenna'. At least, that was the description given to him by Renji. However, Ichigo had a tendency to romantise things, and his brain had rearranged the description into something more exaggerating. **(IMAGE OF EDWARD BY ICHIGO CENSORED.)**

He was just about to give up when he felt someone kicked him in the shin. Not once, but trice. It was **NOT** an accident. Ichigo glanced down and saw a kid staring up at him with a frown on his face. "You Kurosaki Ichigo?" The kid enquired.

Ichigo gave the kid one of his own frowns. "Who are you?" He asked, making his already narrowed eyes even narrower. He also pouted – accordingly of course, a guy pouting is quite a sight – and altogether this made him look like the world's most spoilt brat.

A look of annoyance flashed across the kid's face. "I'm Edward Elric," he said, crumpling up the map he was holding. He frowned again. "ARE you Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Yes, I am," Ichigo said in an exasperated tone. A zillion thoughts zipped through his head. This shorty was Edward Elric. He certainly was blonde and had a show-off antenna, but not the way Ichigo had imagined him to be. **(ONCE AGAIN, IMAGE OF EDWARD BY ICHIGO CENSORED.)**

Edward was looking at Ichigo up and down, again and again. His face slowly went red and his hands shook. "Are we getting on?" he asked in a strained tone, layered thick with sarcasm. Ichigo stared at him. Edward was obviously in rage, but over what, he did not know. He shrugged. "Let's," he said, and led the way out of the airport.

After thirty minutes of walking, Edward began to feel tired. He glanced at Ichigo, who was walking in a gawky but energetic sort of way. He sighed. The fact that Ichigo had left him to carry his entire luggage himself did little to improve his mood. "Cure of sake!" he called snappily. Actually, Edward couldn't pronounce Ichigo's name, so he devised a little system, which was very near to the correct pronunciation, only not near enough.

Ichigo continued walking. He didn't realise Edward was calling him; he just knew that Edward was yelling something babblish. Cure of sake, indeed! Strange kid, Ichigo thought, still walking but did not look back.

Edward began to feel exasperated. "Cure of sake!" he called again. Still no respond from the carrot-top guy. He then decided he must have the pronunciation wrong. He thought for a while, then called out, "Hey, strawberry!"

For those who do not understand Japanese, Ichigo means strawberry. Even though it is his own name, he hated it when someone called him strawberry. It makes him feel like a fruit head. Ichigo turned around furiously to face Edward. Finally, a response.

"What do you want?" Ichigo yelped.

Edward tried to hide his smile. Somehow, he managed to put up a straight face before asking, "How far do we still have to walk?"

Ichigo thought for a while before replying. "About five kilometres, I think." He said flatly. He watched Edward's face fall. Just to tease his soon-to-be comrade, he added, "or maybe more. I'm not sure. I'm not good at sums."

Five kilometres! Or maybe more! Edward felt like fainting. He had never walked such a long distance before. We must have covered approximately two kilometres in the past thirty minutes, Edward calculated. Two plus five… **OMG**! How did this Ichigo manage?!

Ichigo must had read Edward's mind, because he said, "If we are fast enough, we'll reach a bus stop in fifteen minutes and take a bus to our destination. Honestly, you think I walk all the way to pick up a shorty?"

"I-!" Edward was furious.

It was Ichigo's turn to smirk. "We better get going if we want to get there before sunset. Here, I'll help you carry this." He went over to Edward, took one of Edward's bags and resumed walking. Edward had no choice but to follow Ichigo.

That night after dinner at Ichigo's house, Edward sat on the floor in Ichigo's room, feeling bewildered. A guy with red hair and a girl with hair the colour of sand had climbed into the room through the window. What happened next was a lot more confusing. From the ceiling jumped down a bald man, a beautiful woman and a kid with silver hair. Then, the girl so fondly called Rukia by Ichigo's family had entered the room too, through the door though.

Everyone was talking to him at once. Edward was overwhelmed at how friendly everyone was. Well, all except that Rukia girl. She was talking quietly with Ichigo at a corner of the room, occasionally taking hostile glances at him.

Suddenly, Rukia clapped her hands loudly. The talking stopped. Rukia smiled a little and said, "A very warm welcome to our comrade, Edward Elric! He specialises in Alchemy and has quite an IQ. Now," there was a dangerous glint in her eyes and Edward had a sudden urge to run away, "our alchemist friend will demonstrate his skill, with the help of Ichigo!"

Everyone clapped. Someone dragged Edward onto his feet. Ichigo grinned and stepped forward. Edward winced involuntarily. He had seen that grin before on Shou Tucker, the Sewing-Life Alchemist before he was murdered by Scar. "Draw your weapons," he vaguely heard Rukia said, then – "FIGHT!"

Edward quickly transmuted himself a finely-crafted sword from the floor while Ichigo turned himself into a shinigami and drew his sword, the Moon Cutter. Their eyes locked before they charged at each other.

There was only one thing they see in each other as they sparred in the room full of people – determination.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how was it? Actually, combining Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist was my friend's idea. I remember we were rather excited about the idea and decided to start on it straight away. That was when we realised the plots each of us thought up were completely different. So we decided to expand the plot differently, but still use the same idea. 

**ALERT:** xinping has a lifetime history of plagiarism and carelessness. Pardon her if you find her copying your idea or make stupid grammar mistakes.

**Coming up next: THE MOON AND THE STAR**

Please don't forget to review!


	2. The Moon and the Star

**DISCLAIMER:** Not mine, but Kubo Tite and Hiromu Arakawa's. The Bleach and FMA crossover idea is not mine also. Yeah, kinda depressing…

**ALERT:** xinping has a lifetime history of plagiarism and carelessness. Pardon her if you find her copying your idea or make stupid grammar mistakes.

**REVIEW REPLY:** anti-thule is right. How did they fight in Ichigo's room ya…? No idea…supposed Ichigo had a big room? (sheepish)

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**THE DAMNED THING****  
****by xinping  
****  
CHAPTER TWO: THE MOON AND THE STAR **

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_**Eighteen years ago, somewhere in the suburbs of Hokkaido**_

"Waa! Waa!"

Urahara Keisuke stopped dead in his tracks. He was holding a bottle of sake, wandering around the area after visiting his old friend. There was surprise in his eyes underneath the ridiculous cap. He looked around. Silence. He shrugged and continued walking.

"Waa!"

Definitely not a hallucination. Urahara stopped again and listened. Another string of brawl, this time much nearer. He looked around again. Around him were remains of a shanty town, no longer occupied. It was unnerving, alone in a dark place and hearing voices that were not supposed to be there.

Just then, he saw a beautiful and slender white bird perching on a roof nearby. The bird rose in the air and seemed to beckon Urahara to follow it. Urahara stopped again, uncertain, but decided to follow it all the same. The bird flew over several huts and at last landed on the roof of a hut with broken windows.

Urahara slowly entered the hut and to his surprise, saw a crying baby lying in the middle of the room. Light was shining on her through a hole in the roof, a most eerie sight. He heard the bird gave a shriek as it took off again. A few of its feathers floated down from the hole and landed near the baby.

Urahara went forward. It was a baby girl. He took her in her arms and while comforting her, glanced upwards at the hole. It was a moonless night and the stars were twinkling friendily in the sky. He then looked down at the feathers on the floor and made up his mind.

"I shall call you… Tsubasa Hoshii," he whispered in the baby's ear and left the hut.

_Note: tsubasa-wings; hoshi-star_

_**21st century, in a jungle near the town of Karakura**_

"Up and going!" Hoshii hollered and threw the blanket off Urahara. She grinned when Urahara squinted at her sleepily, and then closed his eyes again. He could hear the dull thuds on the wooden floor as Hoshii stepped out of his room towards the kitchen. "I'll get Tsuki, and we'll go right after breakfast. Don't keep us waiting!"

Urahara sighed. Groggily, he got dressed and moments later sat down in the brightly-lit shukudo to a seemingly ten-course breakfast. He gawked and looked at Tsuki for an explanation.

"Uh, Hoshii prepared all this," Tsuki said apologetically. Just then Hoshii came out of the kitchen and sat down at the table. "Itadakimasu!" she said brightly and tucked in, not noticing the look on Urahara's face. (very, very green) Tsuki joined her but kept casing Urahara doubtful looks.

About twenty minutes later, both girls bade Urahara goodbye and went off. Before going, Hoshii yelled, "Daddy, I'll get the most wanted man this time! You'll see!" She winked and was out in a flash, leaving Urahara gaping with a bowl of rice and chopsticks in hand at the unfinished mountain of breakfast.

"I'll get overweight at this rate!" he finally exclaimed.

_**Meanwhile, in a park at the town of Karakura**_

"You said he'll come. So where is he?" Edward Elric demanded. He was getting fed up of the lazy ways in Japan. He wants things to get done quick and ASAP at it. Coming to Japan had been a big mistake, he thought.

Kurosaki Ichigo flashed Kuchiki Rukia a look across the table. She shrugged and continued watching a spider weaving a web. That shrimp was another foreigner, expecting everyone to cater to his needs. "Well, aren't all outsiders the same," she concluded silently as the spider finished weaving the web.

Meanwhile, Edward was going crazy. He wished he had brought Alphonse with him. On a not-so-bright impulse, he picked a fight with Ichigo. He was winning when Urahara suddenly appeared. Distracted, he was thrown by the Moon Cutter up into the air and landed on the grass head first.

**NOW AS MOST PEOPLE KNOW EDWARD ELRIC HAD A TERRIBLE TEMPER…**

The heck?! That's cheating!

Aaargghh! That's not fair!

Not fair!

NOT FAIR!!

Edward leapt up from the grass and transmuted his metal limb into a sword. There was a crazy glint in his eyes as he brought the sword towards Ichigo's head.

"I'm gonna send you to hell!"

Ichigo barely escaped, the sword somehow grazed his chin. He was furious.

"You lil twit!" he yelled and charged at Edward, but someone banged him on the head with something heavy. He caught a glimpse of Rukia before blacking out. A satisfied smile spread across her face. She caught Edward and Urahara gawking at her and smiled a very false smile.

"My new technique, Maka Chop. Care to try it?" she said, holding up her 'chopper', a thick book entitled 'Teenagers and their social lives'. Both sweat-dropped and glanced at the heap on the grass that was Ichigo.

"Ve-very creative," Urahara said.

"Y-Yes, in-indeed," Edward said.

Rukia said nothing and put the book away, all the while still smiling the deadly false smile.

They sat down on the bench. It was a comfortable sunny day and Urahara was in a good mood. But then, Urahara in a good mood means putting someone else in a bad mood. It always had been this way.

"I take that," Urahara looked at Edward, "You are Mister Edward Elric. Correct?"

Edward did not like to be addressed as 'Mister' but decided to drop it since this Urahara was such as important person. "Yes," he stiffly. He saw Urahara raised his left eyebrow and smirked. He suddenly realized his right hand was still a sword and quickly transmuted it back. Urahara nodded solemnly.

"Alchemy," he said solemnly.

Urahara took out fan and began fanning himself. "I understand you come here to help retrieve the Jade of Souls, and that you want to use it for certain purpose," He paused. "But you call this creation of mine by another name, don't you?"

Edward straightened up, and answered. "Yes. I call it the Philosopher's Stone," He looked at Urahara straight in the eye to show that he meant business. There was not time to fool around if Alphonse were to return his body ASAP.

There was a long pause. "Philosopher's Stone," Urahara echoed. Edward nodded and Urahara shifted his gaze to the sky. "I gather that you are not using it for dishonest means if you have it?" There was a faint smirk on Urahara's face. Without waiting for an answer, he said nonchalantly, "Well, I'll give you information, but you'll have to-"

Edward squeezed his fist so tight his knuckles had turned white (for the left limb, that is). In his mind he was wondering what kind of exchange would be equivalent to the information.

"Guess my age."

Edward toppled from the bench.

"What? What!? WHAT!!" Edward screamed.

"Guess my age." Urahara repeated calmly.

Edward was furious. "Who wanna guess your friggin' age!" He was beginning to think the whole thing was a joke set up by the damned colonel. It was just the kind of thing he would do. 'Fuck you colonel mouse-scank!' he thought.

Back at Grand Central, Amestris, the colonel sneezed.

"Guess my age," Urahara said again, "but please be reminded you can only have five go. Got it correct and I'll tell you the information. Got it wrong, I won't say a thing. Agree?" He peered at Edward underneath his ridiculous cap, as if jeering at him.

"Hmph!" Edward sat down on the bench again. Rukia looked at him in surprise. Who would think a person, with such a high IQ would actually fall for Urahara's trick? Maybe there was something wrong with the information on this alchemist.

"52!"

"Nah."

"83!"

"No."

"43!"

"Too young."

"67!"

"No."

Edward glanced at Urahara. It was impossible to tell how old he was, and he had only one chance left. "Think logically," he thought to himself. 43 was too young. Wait - too young? Does this means he was over a hundred?

No way. Didn't look like it. Then, how old was he?!

Aaargghh! Don't care anymore! "102!" he yelled.

"Wrong."

Edward went crazy. Just then, Ichigo woke up in time to see Edward jumping up and down like he was doing a war dance. He rubbed his eyes and mumbled, "What happened? Hey, wait - why I am being left out? I thought I am supposed to be the main character?!"

**- Author went missing for two months trying to escape from Ichigo and the Moon Cutter. -**

Meanwhile, Edward was very, very depressed. (He had stopped jumping around.)

Sorry, Al. If I had been better at guessing games, you won't have to be stuck being a suit of armour forever. You must be hating me for this. I deserved to die! Die! DIE!!

Somebody kill me!!

Just then, a bullet whizzed past Edward's ear, missing it by inches. He saw Ichigo looked at something behind him and ran away like mad. Curious, he turned around. Urahara was smirking (The heck?? He was still fanning himself?!) and there were two girls standing beside him.

"Ah! Allow me to introduce these two young ladies! This is Hirakawa Tsuki…" he gestured to the girl on the right, who, despite her Japanese name, looked more like a Korean, "and this is Tsubasa Hoshii! Lovely, aren't they?"

Edward's gaze fell on Tsubasa Hoshii. She was holding a gun and wore a black jacket over a dark grey T-shirt, and black belly-bottom jeans. Her jet black hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, giving her an ominous look. He disliked her instantly.

"Daddy, where had Ichigo gone to?" Hoshii asked.

"Hmm?" Urahara looked around. Ichigo was nowhere to be seen. "Funny, he was here moments ago…anyway, Hoshii, introduce this guy to Tsuki."

Edward was confused why Hoshii should be the one to introduce him, but not for long.

"Edward Elric, 15. A foul-mouth brat with long blond hair in plait. Short for his age, actual height not known due to platform boots and antenna. Youngest state alchemist in Amestris, second name Fullmetal Alchemist. Hates milk. Younger brother, Alphonse Elric, 14, his body disintegrated and soul is now housed in a suit of armour-"

"STOP!"

Tsuki looked sheepish. "I think you had overdone it again, Hoshii." Edward glared at her. She blushed and shuffled behind Urahara like a small girl. Urahara smirked.

"You scared her," he said.

"I bloody hell realize that!" Edward screamed. Someone smacked him on the head with a heavy thing, and he was out cold in two seconds flat. "So much for being a STATE ALCHEMIST," Hoshii sighed and returned 'Teenagers and their social lives' back to Rukia.

**- Yeah, the ultimate Maka Chop again! -**

"That-that's not very nice," Tsuki piped up. Hoshii shrugged and dumped Edward back onto the bench. She looked around, frowning. "You know where Ichigo is?" she asked Rukia.

Rukia smiled. "Could that odd orange among the bush he him?" she pointed. Sure enough, there was a bright splat of orange among the bushes. It was so obvious; Ichigo must be really desperate to get away from Hoshii.

Hoshii gave Rukia a thumbs up and tiptoed quietly to the bush. Urahara, Tsuki and Rukia held their breath. The air was so thick with tense that they were startled by the rustling caused by a small squirrel.

"Ichigo!" Hoshii called, standing deliberately near the bush.

Rustle, but the orange 'bush' remained stationery. Ichigo was not going to come out of hiding so easily. He didn't realize that his hair would give himself away, since it had been a long time he was criticized because of it. Or had he forgotten about his own hair colour?!

Hoshii sighed. They saw her mumble something under her breath and Ichigo was pulled up by the sleeve of his shirt. He looked very frightened and automatically knelt down on the ground in front of Hoshii, which make her raise her eyebrow.

"Please do not punish me!" They heard Ichigo said.

Hoshii looked amused. "Now why would I do that? Oh, for goodness sake please stand up! You make me feel like a bully." She giggled.

'You ARE a bully, no doubt about it,' Ichigo thought drily. He got up slowly and before Hoshii could react, ran away!

"FORGIVE ME-!" Ichigo yelled as he ran.

Wrong move. One thing was sure, Hoshii is definitely would NOT forgive him. She ran after him. "COME BACK YOU PUNY CARROT-TOP!" she yelled.

As the two disappeared into the distance, Urahara turned to Tsuki. There was a mock serious expression on his face. "Did you put the tracker on her?" he asked. Tsuki nodded solemnly. Then, they burst out laughing.

Rukia was confused. "What's so funny?" she asked. The duo was still laughing. Their laughter awoke Edward from his slumber. (notice that Ichigo was out cold longer than Edward) He rubbed his eyes and stared at the laughing pair. "What are they on about?" he asked Rukia.

Rukia shrugged. When at last the laughter creased, Tsuki gasped, "It's a long story."

_**Flashback: Eleven years ago**_

Both Ichigo and Hoshii were seven then; Tsuki was nine. One summer day…

**HOSHII:** Ichi-kun! (running to catch up with Ichigo)

**ICHIGO:** Quit calling me that! If not I will not play with you anymore! (Trying to look stern)

**HOSHII:** Aww… (depressed, but then brightened up) Kuro-kun! Let's play hide and seek!

**ICHIGO:** (Thinking: What?! Kuro-kun?! Oh - I give up.) All right. So who's gonna do the hiding?

**HOSHII:** You, of course! 1-2-3-

**ICHIGO:** Hey! Whatever, I'll hide.

**HOSHII: **(smirk) 4-5-6-7-…

And so, this went on until Hoshii reached a hundred.

**HOSHII:** I'm out to get ya, Kuro-kun!

Ichigo, who was up on a tree directly above her, went "…".

Hoshii looked under the park bridge. She looked among bushes, behind benches and even in the dustbins. She waded out into a pond to see if he was in there, but of course he wasn't. All this time she did not think of looking up at the trees, and Ichigo got tired of waiting for her to find him. So, he shinned down the tree and taking care not to bump into Hoshii, he ran home.

**ICHIGO:** Gotta leave it to Hoshii to play and seek for HOURS. Oh, damn, my bum is so sore from sitting on the branch.

Meanwhile, Hoshii was still searching for Ichigo.

**HOSHII:** Where could he be? He couldn't have so good a hiding place! Oh! I know! He must be hiding up in one of the trees!

**- Sorry, Hoshii, your reaction was a tad too slow. -**

And so, Hoshii began looking for Ichigo by climbing trees. She was so absorbed in this act that she did not realize night had fallen until she reached the tree near the park entrance. (the park have tons of trees)

**HOSHII: **Eh? Why is the park gate locked? It couldn't be that late… (suddenly broke down and cried) It's all Ichigo's fault! Where is he?!

Just then, Urahara came and when Hoshii saw him, she ran to him.

**HOSHII:** (wailing) Daddy-!

**URAHARA:** Where have you been? I'm so worried about you!

**HOSHII:** I was playing hide and seek with Ichigo, but I couldn't find him!

**URAHARA:** (surprised) Ichigo? He went home ages ago!

**HOSHII:** (shocked) What?!

**URAHARA:** Now, now, don't cry anymore! Let's go home, ok?

Hoshii nodded and they went home, the ordeal over. And yeah, since then, Hoshii did not call Ichigo by petty nicknames anymore but just plain 'Ichigo'.

_**Back to reality**_

"YOU'RE DEAD!"

Urahara, Tsuki, Rukia and Edward looked up at the shrill scream emitted by Hoshii in the distance. They exchanged a knowing smile and burst out laughing.

Up above them the blue sky had turned into shades of red, orange and yellow. Another day was coming to an end.

Urahara bade a severely-beaten up Ichigo goodbye and went off with Hoshii and Tsuki, leaving Rukia and Edward with the trouble of carrying him home. Edward did not get any serious talking done as he had expected, but what the heck, it had been a fun day.

'Maybe tomorrow,' Edward thought.

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**A/N: **Sorry for taking a long time to post up this chapter. I had been busy with revisions and exams…since I am the must-get-no.1-in-class type of person…

So, how was it? If you wanted to know what Urahara's age was, I am afraid I am unable to provide an accurate answer…but he certainly is a hundred something. Or even two hundred something. Who knows?

A friend of mine asked me if the book 'Teenagers and their social lives' really exist. Well, I don't know, I just made it up as I write.

Actually this is chapter two version two…the chapter two version one kinda stinks, so I took a two week break and start again!

I have not decided the title of chapter three yet…but please support me all the same!

Read and review!


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